The difference between buddhas and sentient beings is that buddhas recognize their nature while sentient beings fail to recognize it.

Equanimity is not indifference. It is the balanced mind that sees things clearly without reaction.

Man suffers only because he takes seriously what the gods made for fun.

The first noble truth of the Buddha is that life contains suffering. The second noble truth is that the cause of suffering is craving.

The master's introduction is direct recognition of one's own nature. Meditation is maintaining the continuity of this recognition.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.

To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.

Meditation is not about getting away from it all. It's about getting into it all.

The zazen I speak of is not meditation practice. It is simply the dharma gate of joyful ease.

The willingness to empty ourselves and then seek our true nature is an expression of great and courageous love.

Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.

The way to change the world is to change your own mind.

Love is not a feeling. It's a capability.

The challenge in meditation is not to eliminate thinking but to understand the nature of thought itself.

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

Each moment of clear seeing is a moment of freedom from the illusion of permanence, satisfaction, and self.

Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.

The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

The practice is not about achieving special states but about seeing ordinary experience with extraordinary clarity.

Vipassana is the art of living. Not the art of escaping.

Not by hatred is hatred conquered, but by love alone. This is an eternal law.

To live – is that not enough? To love – is that not everything?

Every time we become aware of a thought, as opposed to being lost in a thought, we experience that opening of the mind.

Those who understand interdependent origination understand suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path.

Understanding means throwing away your knowledge.

Impermanence, suffering, and non-self are not philosophical concepts but realities to be directly perceived through mindfulness practice.

The purpose of meditation is to make our mind calm and peaceful. If our mind is peaceful, we will be free from worries and mental discomfort.

Who would then deny that when I am sipping tea in my tearoom I am swallowing the whole universe with it and that this very moment of my lifting the bowl to my lips is eternity itself transcending time and space?

Meditation is not about escaping from difficulty but about meeting it with awareness.

The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

When you let go of trying to control everything, you can relax and enjoy life.

There is no way to happiness - happiness is the way.

The goal is not to be better than the other man, but your previous self.